Sony Sells Sony Online Entertainment, Renamed to Daybreak Game Company

Sony_Online_Entertainment_LogoNot the news I was hoping to lead off our Monday coverage with, but here it goes. Sony has sold off, or spun off, depending on how you read into the news, Sony Online Entertainment. SOE is most famously known for their MMORPG titles such as EverQuest and more recently PlanetSide 2, DC Universe Online, and H1Z1. The company behind the purchase of SEO from Sony is Columbus Nova, a New York investment management firm. As a result, the studio will shed its former name and become Daybreak Game Company where they will create games for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile. So what will be the fate of previously released titles?

Details after the jump.

According to the team at SOE, nothing will change and if anything, they will have more resources.

 So what exactly does this mean for you? It will be business as usual and all SOE games will continue on their current path of development and operation. In fact, we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in. 

Daybreak President John Smedley

 We are excited to join Columbus Nova’s impressive roster of companies. They have a proven track record in similar and related industries and we are eager to move forward to see how we can push the boundaries of online gaming. We will continue to focus on delivering exceptional games to players around the world, as well as bringing our portfolio to new platforms, fully embracing the multi-platform world in which we all live. 

The full letter to fans:

 Dear Players, Partners and Friends,

Today, we are pleased to announce that we have been acquired by Columbus Nova, an investment management firm well known for its success with its existing portfolio of technology, media and entertainment focused companies. This means that effective immediately SOE will operate as an independent game development studio where we will continue to focus on creating exceptional online games for players around the world, and now as a multi-platform gaming company. Yes, that means PlayStation and Xbox, mobile and more!

As part of this transition, SOE will now become Daybreak Game Company. This name embodies who we are as an organization, and is a nod to the passion and dedication of our employees and players. It is also representative of our vision to approach each new day as an opportunity to move gaming forward.

So what exactly does this mean for you? It will be business as usual and all SOE games will continue on their current path of development and operation. In fact, we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in.

Our games and players are the heart and soul of our organization, and we are committed to maintaining our portfolio of online games and pushing the limits of where we can take online gaming together.

Thank you for your continued support. See you in game! 

It remains to be seen why SOE has been sold off, though it’s likely related to Sony’s finances. With Sony under more and more pressure to perform, they’ve been busy focusing their brands and selling off portions of their business that they may mind distracting to straying. While SOE is certainly aligned with PlayStation, the fact that they operate on the PC and the lack of laser focus on PlayStation meant that path likely didn’t match the cloud based future that PlayStation is headed towards. This way, the studio can continue to operate and expand in ways that aren’t constraining like being on multiple consoles which would surely help their bottom line while the sale will hopefully give a boost to Sony’s bottom line as well.

Discuss:

Are you sad to see SOE be no more, or do you not care about the name of the studio as long as they pump out good games?

[Via SOE]